Though he wrote in Spanish, Saavedra often would inject English-language expressions into his pieces, like a true border resident. Saavedra “will be remembered as one of the most innovative writers of contemporary border literature,” according to a statement from Tijuana’s Cultural Center.

Saavedra underwent surgery Tuesday at federal ISSSTE Hospital, following a heart attack Sept. 7, said his friend, photographer Julio Blanco. Though ailing and in intensive care, Saavedra had been upbeat in recent days, Blanco said, and happy to have friends visit and write.

A native of the city, Saavedra “was a person who lived the life of Tijuana,” said Blanco, who accompanied Saavedra on many of his nocturnal journeys.

"Going out at night is to dare to live, when others have surrendered," Saavedra wrote in a 2009 essay, "Confessions of a Night Addict," published in the cultural magazine PicNic.

Known as Rafa to his friends, Saavedra was scheduled to participate in the upcoming Festival Tijuana Interzona, a celebration of the city’s cultural life. He was the author of numerous pieces about Tijuana and the border.

Jaime Cháidez, a cultural critic, wrote that "what's most important is that Rafa did not just limit to expressing himself as a writer." Saavedra was an early user of the internet to broadcast his message, Cháidez wrote, worked as a DJ to spread word of the city’s electronic music movement, and conducted radio interview of local cultural figures.